5 Newsletters I’m not ready to unsubscribe from in 2022
Reading time: 5 minutes
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Intro
It’s nearly New Year’s Eve, and in my house, the end of a cycle in the Gregorian Calendar is also time for decluttering.
Because my wife’s due date is mercilessly approaching, the physical decluttering (and re-cluttering with baby stuff) has already been taken care of during the past nine months, leaving me the onerous chore of decluttering my digital database.
While I try to summon the digital spirit of Marie Kondo—I needed a Christmas Miracle to go through my Instapaper list of articles—I unsubscribed from all the newsletters I didn’t have time to read, remaining with only 5 worthy survivors.
I have at least another five valuable entries which I could recommend, but that haven’t made the cut. Should you be interested, send me a message and I’ll give you the full list.
Hopefully, in 2022, I will be able to put together my own monthly newsletter, but for now, you’ll have to settle for my suggestions below.
Enjoy!
Specific for Writers and Artists
Courtesy of the-talks.com
1. Plot Spoiler, by Chuck Palahniuk
Paid, $40 a year, or, $6 a month.
Chuck Palahniuk, most known for his debut novel “Fight Club,” is one of the first authors I’ve ever read and, to this day, easily in my top ten.
I always loved his carefully crafted style, filled with wise repetitions and tricks worth of a magician, even more than the irreverence of his stories.
Plot Spoiler, his newest paid subscription in Substack, is much more than a simple newsletter. It’s a writing course, with homework and quizzes, but also a marvellous selection of his personal memories, a sea of resources for writers, an occasional short story delivered to your inbox and a brand new novel, Greener Pastures, issued in periodic instalments, like the old fashioned Feuilletons.
Worth every penny.
Courtesy of: austinkleon.com
2. Austin Kleon’s Weekly Newsletter
Paid, $50 a year, but the free version is very good as well.
I mentioned Austin Kleon many, many times in this blog because, to be honest, I hope that one day I’ll be able to make a living in the same way he does.
I’m only subscribed to the Friday “10 things worth sharing” newsletter (for now), which is free but brings enormous value to my daily writing practice. Inside, there are book recommendations, pictures, curiosities, articles, and much, much more.
If you need your mind to be blown on a weekly basis, give it a try.
For all sorts of Creators, Entrepreneurs, and people seeking constant improvement.
Courtesy of: jamesclear.com
3. 3-2-1, by James Clear
Free
James Clear is the author of my favourite non-fiction book of all time: Atomic Habits (Book summary coming soon).
His weekly emails aim to deliver: “The most wisdom per word of any newsletter on the web.”
Their format is unique. Every Thursday, he sends out a new issue with 3 ideas from him, 2 quotes from famous personalities and one question for you to reflect on. It takes one minute to read and most of the quotes are worth collecting. Many of them appear on this very blog.
Since I’ve read his book, I can’t stop finding references in every aspect of my life.
Courtesy of: mattdavella.com
Snail Mail, by Slow Growth (Matt D’Avella)
Free
This weekly newsletter by Matt D’Avella, the ultra-famous YouTuber and director of 2 documentaries about Minimalism, available on Netflix, is part of Slow Growth; his online courses company.
His approach wants to challenge the common idea of toxic productivity, advocating the art of taking it slow, instead of cramming tons and tons of activities in every drop of free time.
It usually comes with one original take, three interesting articles by others, and a creator spotlight; which is a small interview with a creator external to the company and who’s probably still in the early stages of their journey.
It can send you down the rabbit hole, but it might be a good thing!
Courtesy of: aliabdaal.com
Sunday Snippets, by Ali Abdaal
Free
I absolutely adore Ali Abdaal. His YouTube videos are the right amount of honest, down to earth and unreachable; plus, he’s one of the only YouTubers with multiple millions subscribers who is not afraid to experiment and put out there something different every once in a while.
By his own admission, he is kind of a waste man, and his newsletter’s clearly not his top priority.
First of all, it’s not regular at all. You might get it a few weeks in a row and then not hear from him for a month. Also, the format changes drastically from issue to issue. He uses it as a public journal, where he talks about his accomplishments, challenges, and whatever caught his curiosity that particular week.
This degree of randomness makes it even more valuable to me. It takes out the pressure of having to be on top of everything, but every time I see an email from him, I rejoice, and very rarely I don’t find value in what he shares.
Here you go, five newsletters for a richer 2022.
If you subscribe to any of those, please let me know.
Alla prossima
